


Hot Chocolate

by hibiren



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Christmas Presents, Dating, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Gift Exchange, Gift Giving, Hot Chocolate, Humor, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, New Years, Party, Relationship(s), Sweet, gladnoct - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-01 11:38:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16764388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: Noctis takes some time to himself during a busy New Years' gathering at the Cape Caem house. When Gladio goes outside to bring him back to the party, Noctis makes up an excuse so he can eventually give the Shield his "real" Christmas present in private, hoping to make the best of the last few minutes of the year.





	Hot Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aliatori](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliatori/gifts).



> for one of aliatori's gladnoct prompts, "Noctis confesses his feelings to Gladio with a New Years Kiss." I went for fluffy and a little silly with it, I hope that's okay! The holidays seem like a good time for fluff and happiness, since they've gone through so much in canon that they could use some extra sweetness!

Parties were never Noctis’ specialty, which was why he found himself taking a break outside, warm mug of hot chocolate in hand. He liked the mug; it was sculpted into the shape of a moogle wearing a Santa hat. A very cute design, credit to Iris who had gotten it for him and secretly, as cheesy as it was, he liked it. To be fair she had gifted Prompto a chocobo mug with a Santa hat to match, so Noctis didn’t feel too alone.

The holidays were awkward times for the Prince, especially given Prompto’s tendency to over-celebrate anything that came by (Valentine’s, Halloween, and Christmas especially) coupled with the fact that he had to talk to people instead of keeping to himself as he usually did. At least this holiday at the Cape Caem house quieted down considerably after Christmas, when everyone’s excitedness had been satisfied after one very noisy morning of opening presents and exchanging excitable thank you’s. Now all that was left was greeting the new year.

Noctis checked his phone, 11:45, the numbers showed through the evening. It was almost a new year, which meant another year of figuring out what to do and where to go, in the midst of their greater mission. Times at the Cape Caem house at least made time seem to slow down just a bit, and Noctis greatly appreciated it.

A chilled breeze swept over the cliffs and brushed against Noctis’ perch on the house’s front porch. He shivered and took a sip of his hot chocolate which helped keep the cold away. His jacket was warm, still, but he debated going back inside again if it got much colder.

With impeccable timing, the door swung open behind Noctis, letting out a rush of warm air from inside. Gladio called down to him, “Hey, you okay? Phone call or something?”

“Nah. Just needed a moment. Also wanted to do something about that mistletoe  _ someone  _ left on the doorframe.” As Noctis spoke, his breath surrounded him in little clouds, due to the evening chill.

“What, you don’t think a little Christmas fun is still in order before the new year? We’ve still got a few minutes left to celebrate. But come back inside, it’s too chilly out there. You’ll let all the cold in.” Gladio smirked and beckoned Noctis through the door, and Noctis just shrugged and obliged the suggestion. He tried not to wonder too much about the undertones in Gladio’s remark. Humor? Or was it something else?

Maybe in the last few minutes they had, Noctis would take his chances. Finishing off the rest of his hot chocolate, he followed Gladio over to the kitchen where Ignis poured them both a new mug after noticing the way Noctis shivered through his jacket. Ignis just seemed happy that all of the food he made wasn’t going to waste (in fact he’d insisted that everyone take something home so the Regalia didn’t become a makeshift refrigerator once the holidays were over).

“Hey, Gladio, can I borrow you upstairs for a minute? I need to use your phone charger since mine’s still lost in all that wrapping paper,” Noctis lied, hoping he sounded convincing enough. At least this way, if they were alone for a few minutes, it wouldn’t be too suspicious. Would it? That was the last thing he wanted, to spend the year dodging questions from people about his love life. If he even knew what Gladio would say.

He’d loved his Shield for too long, even though they first didn’t want to be anywhere near each other. But deep down, Noctis knew that there was something in his heart that burned for Gladio even since they first set out together, the passions that Gladio stirred within him; rarely did anyone get Noctis so caught up in something… Gladio just had him trapped, and he couldn’t fight any longer. The way Gladio flirted with everyone, it was always hard to tell where his heart was going to be… before Gladio found someone else, Noctis wanted to be the first of the new year, even if he found himself thinking selfishly about it.

“Phone charger’s by my backpack on the floor,” Gladio said as the two made their way to the guest bedroom where he and the others roomed for the holiday. “Feel free to use it, just give it back when you’re done, okay?”

Noctis picked up the charger, plugged one end into his phone and the other into the wall, and set his phone aside where it would be out of the way. Best to keep to his excuse as much as possible.

As Gladio turned to leave, Noctis made a brief sprint to catch up with him and grabbed his arm.

“...Wait, Gladio.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Gladio’s warm eyes blinked down at him and Noctis already found himself wanting to say everything he’d thought of to say, thought of during all the nights they’d slept in such close proximity to each other, sharing warmth when the air outside was so bitterly cold…

“I, uh… can I talk to you for a minute? Just… just for a minute. I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure, go for it.” The Shield seemed a bit concerned, but he sat down on the couch by the door and Noctis awkwardly moved to a chair nearby. “You okay? Too much party for you?”

Noctis frowned, but nodded. “Yeah, I guess. But, this isn’t really about that… I wanted to ask… I remember you mentioned having a girlfriend a while ago. Are you still seeing her? Or… anyone? I didn’t see you getting any other Christmas presents while we’d been shopping so… I wanted to ask. But I didn’t want to make it awkward.”

“Mm. Yeah, we stopped seeing each other a few weeks ago. She didn’t like that I was on the road so much, and when I told her it was because of my job she just got angry at me and said that ‘I might as well marry my job for all the time I spend thinking about it!’ What a breakup that was.” Gladio tapped his fingers against his leg as he talked, and Noctis watched, unsure of whether to feel humored or relieved.

“Yikes. Sorry to hear that…” Noctis and Gladio both took sips from their hot chocolates until the awkward moment passed. “I… I wanted to ask because I got you something else, for Christmas, I guess, that I hadn’t told you about.”

“What’s this? Did you get me that limited edition Coleman lantern I saw back in Lestallum’s Christmas market? The one with the different colored lights?”

Noctis smirked, then shook his head. “Nope. Got you something better. Something one of a kind. But you gotta close your eyes first.”

“Okay, okay. Fine.” Gladio chuckled and closed his eyes after setting down his mug of hot chocolate on the table. “It’s not gonna bite me is it?”

“Nope, unless you want it to.”

“What  _ did  _ you get me?” Gladio asked, seeming suddenly unsure.

Stepping around the table, Noctis closed the distance between himself and Gladio and slipped into the man’s lap, knees bracing against the couch on either side of Gladio’s hips. Noctis hesitated, briefly, before closing his own eyes and finally gathering the courage to kiss his Shield.

Gladio’s mouth tasted of his last sips of hot chocolate, lingering warm and full, and enough to already set his mind on its way to a frenzy, easily drowning into the moment.

Downstairs, distantly, the sound of excited shouting echoed:

_ Happy New Year! _

And Noctis smiled into their kiss. Even though his eyes were closed he could feel Gladio smiling too, as his arms wrapped around his hips and pulled him into a happy embrace.

“You got me yourself, how original,” Gladio joked, and Noctis just shrugged, but offered up a playful wink.

“I already got you everything else I could think of, why not give you myself too? I… I didn’t want anyone else to get to you first this time. Maybe I’m being selfish, but, I didn’t want to stand by another year waiting to get the courage to say something.”

“Well, I’m glad. Shame I couldn’t have gotten to you first, though, you took down my mistletoe.”

“That  _ was _ you?” Noctis chuckled in slight disbelief. Honestly, he wasn’t sure who was responsible for the little green sprig over the door frame. Well, he had his answer now. “Sorry to have ruined your plans.”

Gladio smiled and pulled Noctis into a deeper kiss, as if it were his own affirmation of his own feelings for his Prince. “Don’t worry, I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“You want your present to bite you?” Noctis asked, a playful gleam in his eyes.

“...Only if I want you to, right? I’m up for a little fooling around if you are… think you can be in the holiday mood for a little longer?”

“Works for me. I’m not one for festivity, but hot chocolate is a good flavor on you. You might just make me change my mind about the holidays...” Noctis and Gladio both shared a laugh before kissing once again, this time slowly and with slightly more caution, taking time to finally explore what they’d been missing out on for so long.


End file.
